I can’t get over how freaking bloodily fantastic The Cruel Prince is!!

I was going to be chill about the whole thing bUT WELL THAT SHIP SAILED AND HERE I AM SO EXTRA IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK OF STABBY MARVELLOUSNESS. I WANT 9 MORE. AND I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT A YEAR FOR THE SEQUEL.

The Cruel Prince will satisfy all your cravings for a dark, murderous faerie tale. This is about the monsters in the woods. It has enchantments and torture and massacres and conniving. And best of all, this book features cruel cleverness and wit. I absolutely love it. (My only complain, literally only is that I thought it’d be darker…hah…hahah…yes I can see you throwing salt at me and running away. Shh. I’m fine and normal.)

Anyway, onwards.

+ First off, this is the ultimate Slytherin book. It’s really complex and twisty with fey royalty plots and conniving courts and the intrigue and the backstabbing and twisted plotting. The fey are very awesome at getting around the “we can’t lie” thing. I have taken notes. Because obviously this is the kind of book you learn from. #NoPleaseDontRunawayFromMeImNiceSometimesImSureIt’s CLEVER and complex and I crave that in a book and I got so so much of it.

+ It’s set in faerieland itself, so you’re in for all the lush scenery and terrible danger. I’M SO FREAKING HAPPY ABOUT THIS. It’s saturated in the rich luscious world. The descriptions were gorgeous and popped off the page. Everything was beautiful and pure deadly. Like: “hey welcome to my hOME where the fruit will kill you and there are death monsters in the pond and also if you piss off a gentry fey, you’ll die!” I am so so in love with this brutally nasty and yet luringly gorgeous world.

10/10 chances I will eventually be lured to faeries land and hopefully be like Jude and stab a lot of stuff and survive.

+ There’s plenty of blood and stabbing. We are not here to muddle about, my fiends. There is murder and it is chilling.

+ I really loved Jude! She’s such a complicated person, born fully human and being fostered by her parent’s murderer (who is also her human mum’s ex-husband…look the fey world is complicated). She’s been raised in the fey world where she’ll always be despised for her mortality. The bullying was done really well and actually rang bitterly of many people’s bullying experiences. I’m so impressed with this?! We have fey courts and magic — but BOOM — there is also a storyline about bullying, being an oddball and being vulnerable and just what that can drive you to do. Jude spends her life trying to fit in, changing herself, and eventually just saying “NO” and fighting back. She wasn’t overconfident or heartless, but she was badass and such a schemer.

+ There’s a lot of emphasis on family! It features Jude’s two sisters: Taryn (her twin, and also annoying tbh) and Vivi (her half sister, and half fey). Also Oak is the “sort of brother” and maybe 6 or 7? But HE’S SUCH A CUTE BRAT. Love Oak. Orianna was so interesting, though very cold. And Madoc was downright freaky terrible. He’s born for war, but also has kindness? But he’s BAD but also does good things?!?? Hello morally grey catastrophes.

+ I do feel things about Prince Cardan. He’s so cruel and makes Jude’s life miserable…which is 100% the recipe for me to hate him. I do NOT like the trope of “ooh I like you so I’ll be mean to you” story lines but, thankfully, it wasn’t like that! I loved the twists in their interactions, but this isn’t the kind of ship you’d expect. (Is it even a ship!?) The romance in this book is never what you’ll expect. And Cardan also has a thoroughly tragic side that…oh wow. I…ugh are these feelings? Make them stop.

+ I really took my time reading. Every page was gorgeous and satisfying and interesting. I can’t even with how detailed the world was and how smoothly the plot ran. I LOVED Jude’s narration and watching her change from someone struggling not to be walked over, to someone an acorn and a thumbprint away from manipulating the world.

+ PLUS THE ENDING. HOLY YES. I DECLARE FAVOURITE OF 2018 ALREADY.

If you haven’t read this one, GET THEE ONTO IT.

It’s murderous and twisty and has complicated characters. Things get bloody and there are girls with swords and wicked monsters and crafty plots. Be entranced. It’s terrible beauty and everything I was hoping for.

THANK YOU TO ALLEN & UNWIN FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black was published January 2018.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

do you like faerie books?! (any favourites or recommendations for me?!) have you read The Cruel Prince yet?! what’s your favourite Holly Black book?

Today’s mini reviews are a lovely mix of fluffy meet cutes and murder.

Because this is obviously a logical combination and if you’re surprised then you must be new here. (Welcome.) As is known amongst the hordes, I read a lot and very fast and receive a lot of surprise books in the mail! SO! I’m wrapping a few YA contemporaries into this post all together! I’ll also link to the longer reviews on Goodreads if you want more details, my fiends.

Also, while we’re discussing me (fun!), did you know I have a tumblr?I put even MORE reviews over there so go follow me if you’re not hopelessly sick of me yet. Because I am actually everywhere. It’s great.

Thanks to Hot Key Books, Allen & Unwin and Bloomsbury for the ARCs!

LOVE HATE & OTHER FILTERS BY SAMIRA AHMED

This story was a 50/50 split between fluffy romance and a very personal look at racism and hate crimes. I think it’s a great balance because tackles some heavy topics, plus it’s an #ownvoices author and I think it’s amazing and needed! I didn’t love the romance, but I’m also an unfeeling bucket. SO.

It’s very focused on film!And Maya wants to be a documenter which is awesome and GO HER. But awkward pause for me because I don’t like movies…hence I read so much.

Maya was complex and interesting, but I also struggled with how she treated her parents. They were very over-protective and stifling, but she was often super rude with…like no reason?

There’s much Indian culture! I love how the writing utilised the 5-senes to make the scenes really pop off the page. THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD I WANTED TO EAT MY ARC.

Maya really never talks about being Muslim though!? Which is fine, like that wasn’t her life focus I guess, but the book’s pitched as being about a Muslim teen! And the only time she thinks of it is when a-soon-to-be-ex-prospective-boyfriend drinks wine and she’s like “N O P E.” Otherwise it never comes up.

The romance had me fleeing.It’s extremely just about Maya figuring out which boy she likes. Bit of a love tirangle. I actually have no idea what she and Phil had in common but tHEY WERE IN LURVE. Or something. It honestly felt shallow.

It was short and sweet!Like a cupcake.

And it had good discussions about hate crimes. Particularly the ripple affect and how it can affect people’s lives who aren’t even anywhere near where the crime took place. Maya really struggles with it and it’s super improtant to read about.

36 QUESTIONS THAT CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT YOU BY VICKI GRANT

This was really predictable but super cute!It’s a running theme around here but I’m noooot great at FLUFF romances. But go for this if you want something cute and fast and fun that involves a little bit of fish and anxiety.

It’s about 2 teens who take a study to see if they can develop a friendship after 36 questions. Or fall in love. Haha, BET YOU CAN’T GUESS. I did end up shipping them and found it quite a page turner.

Hildy was either super irritating or very endearing. Usually both.

Paul was an unfortunate ass. Of course he has a backstory, but this is Snape all over again. There is no excuse in the world not to be polite and honestly his short, snipy answers ticked me off. If I was Hildy, I would’ve belted him with my handbag. We also get to know him about 13% so that’s annoying.

Most of it is written in texting or screenplay format.I found it really fast and easy to read and like breeeeezed through.

The cover is cute. Kind of like when a rainbow throws up.

There were several problematic quips about the lgbtqia community. Seemed totally unnecessary. Hildy’s BFF was a token gay stereotype and Hildy started saying “maybe I’m asexual” because her romances weren’t working out?!?? (Also being asexual does NOT MEAN you can’t have a relationship what even.)

And it was…super predictable.So a fun story but how can we not know what’s going to happen. Come now.

GANGSTA RAP BY BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

It felt like a messily told story with super simplistic writing…like the plot had some great things and messages going down, but the writing had me feeling like a damp marshmallow.

It’s about 3 boys who start a rap band. And then they…immediately top the charts and become super famous. After one song. Of course.

Unfortunately the boys were horrible. They even get picked up by the cops at one stage for full on harassing girls!?!? And I’m supposed to root for these guys? They DO NOT apologise or change. And while I think that it’s great their school found a way to make learning work for them (desk work is not for everyone!!) I feel like they were disgustingly rude and disrespectful the whole time.

Sexism is dancing in the streets. They all refer to their girlfriends as property, not to mention the protagonist has MASSIVE instalove and tells his girlfriend they’ll get married in a year. It’s 15, by the way. FIFTEEN.

It was great learning more about rap and the culture behind it. There’s a lot of #BlackLivesMatter discussions and most of the cast is POC and it covers gang and street violence and the difference between being rebellious and starting a revolution.

But I just couldn’t with the writing. It was basic at best, messy at worst, and totally flat. Miiight be just me not clicking with it, but I’m signing out rapidly.

RAIN FALL BY ELLA WEST

This book is a little like sitting in a bucket of water. Mostly because all it does is rain while dead bodies appear everywhere. Lovely! It was really nice reading about New Zealand and could feel mushrooms growing out of my cold dark soul. But I found the story uninspiring and the writing a bit flat.

Annie was a chronic liar for no reason!? I’ve met toasters with more communication skills. She lies about her secret boyfriend (why) and she assumes he has a girlfriend but never asks (why) so assumes he’s cheating with her but never clarifies (whyyyy) and then lies to her friends about everything (WHY). It’s fine if she was standoffish and introverted, but she had no solid motives for anything?!?

Everyone’s motivations were a bit soggy. Like the only reason Annie is invested in helping her maybe-murderer neighbour is…he’s her neighbour. However I’d trade my neighbour for a grape so maybe I should not talk.

It focused on a lot of things that didn’t click with me. Lots of talks about horses and rodeos and the New Zealand mining industry.

Wasn’t in love with the writing. I just didn’t connect with it, or Annie, at all. And even though there were plenty of murders it didn’t seem dangerous or anything. But hey it rained while I was reading it so A+ on aesthetic marks for me.

have you read any contemporaries this year?! what are your thoughts? and are any of these on your TBR pile?!

Unearthed is TOTALLY like Indiana Jones in space!

Which I’m really pleased about because that’s really creative and a lot of fun! OH! And you know Temple Run? That really dumb game where you can’t get more than 5 meters before being eaten by an ape or whatever? (Or maybe it’s just me who sucks at it. Surely not.) It’s also like that, but the characters of Unearthed at least stop to make delicious spicy bean snacks. Anyway.

I thought Unearthed was fun! It’s not super deep or scary, but the characters were great! My only unravelling was that my attention kept drifting while they just ran through temples and booby traps and solved dead-language puzzles. Not so much my thing so I was a smidge bored.

I loved the “scavengers and raiders in space” vibe! It was really different for me, ergo exciting. And we also have the wonderful moment where the geeks are: “OMG AN ANCIENT AMAZING TEMPLE.” And the raiders are: “wow sorry ok but I just wrecked it.” This is so true to the heart of Indiana Jones. See something precious and archeological? Ruin it. Bless you.

Both narrators were both super fantastic. I particularly loved Jules who is the kind of guy who wore ironed and neat clothes to explore a deadly temple. He is an extreme nerd, very smart, and also brought along a stove and spices to make tins of beans more palatable. I love him. He’s also POC, a super genius and dork, and here to save his scientist dad’s honour.

Amelia is also hilarious and clever. She was kickass but still with a ton of emotion and wry humour and here to save her little sister. SO NICE.

Their banter and dialogue were pleasing to the whole galaxy. I just wish there’d been MORE. Less internal monologuing and description and more banter!

The ending was a WILD intergalatic roller-coaster ride.I want book 2 immediately. Which won’t come out until 2019, so please also hit me in the face.

Basically everything about the premise and the characters was EPIC. It totally won me over so I really enjoyed just a ton of aspects! It was a bit lowkey compared to, [PAUSES TO COUGH AND HACK UP A LUNG] sci-fi like Illuminae which I more gravitate to, so this is great for younger YA as well! We gotcha guns and badies and explosions and booby traps and imminent world destruction though, so don’t think the stakes are a low.

Awkwardly…I was a bit bored. The plot was a real VISUAL one and full of travelling (yawn) and solving puzzles (I’m confused) and while I could imagine this as a great movie, reading it was lacking for me. Apparently I have no imagination or ability to visualise so much. WELL DONE, CAIT. I am shamed.

Then all the description + internal retrospective monologues were too much.I swear they went over the SAME FACTS 50 times and just had all this telling about their thoughts, backstories, details, etc. etc. Maybe I’m just an unemotional piece of bread but I wanted banter and the plot to keep moving. Not long chunks of reflection.

I wasn’t quite convinced with the romance.Adrenaline-flooded-because-it’s-been-3-days-and-we’re-running-for-our-smol-lives style of romances are hard for me to get invested in. Jules and Amelia are awesome but they DON’T really know each other. It wasn’t all smooshy though!! Definite focus on the action instead, I just didn’t really ship it?

I felt the ending contradicted itself but I might be missing something?!? I’m so confused though! Because I thought:

SPOILERS

I thought the whole time Jules and Amelia are seeing these Undying glyph signs that say: “GO BACK!” and “APOCALYPSE!” and “DEATH!” And yet at the end, it’s suddenly the Undying’s #1 goal to get the humans to take their ship back to earth like a Trojan horse???? What am I missing, mate. Either the Undying WANTED the humans to take the ship or they didn’t?

Maybe this becomes clear in the sequel or maybe I misunderstood hahaha. Please feel free to explain it to me if you know.

Unearthed was a really fun adventure, but I’m not a visual enough reader to have enjoyed it fully.

There were great action sequences and the exploring and raiders were exciting. Lots of shooting and oxygen deprivation. #Nice Definitely great for sci-fi fans and maybe local aliens to read and I definitely do want to know what’s going down in the sequel.

I probably do prefer The Starbound Trilogy by these same authors, but SO GLAD they’re writing more together!

THANK YOU TO ALLEN & UNWIN FOR THE REVIEW COPY! Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner was published November 2017!

★★★☆☆

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying’s advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered. For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study … as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don’t loot everything first. Mia and Jules’ different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance. In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race’s secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race …

have you ever read a book and had the (traitorous) thought that it would make a better movie?!? tell me all! and do you like sci-fi? are you planning to eat Unearthed?!

‘Tis the season of mini reviews!

Actually tis the season for salt, so I’m squashing my salty reviews together to save irritating rants. But as a permanently continual reminder — my reviews aren’t tell you what to do…they’re just to introduce a book and if it piques your interest, GO FOR IT. I also flail like a wild mushroom over one of these books so, exciting.

Thanks to Hot Keys, Allen and Unwin, Bloomsbury, and Netgalley for the review-copies!

Also RANDOM but Society6 is having 25% off which is kind of freaking amazing!??! I have tons of designs up including writerly ones so you should 100% pre-reward yourself since NaNoWriMo is in 36 days.

Mug in the above photo is one of my designs!

OKAY I’M DONE. ONTO REVIEWS.

MY NAME IS VICTORIA BY LUCY WORSLEY

Despite being about cool alternate-histories and queens this really…didn’t work for me. I don’t mesh with period-dramas. I just dooooon’t. And when a book stars a self-confessed BORING and PLAIN and AVERAGE girl then when am I supposed to care?! I have more emotions about cereal. Because I can eat it.

It basically follows the story of eleven-year-old princess Victoria who gets a playmate, Miss V.Miss V has the personality of a spoon and literally nothing happens in this book except talking, tea, a few carriage rides, everyone being subtly awful. I’m enthralled. Also over half the book is when Miss V is eleven, although she finishes up at 18, but the tone was really really young.

However the alternate-reality twists were cool! No spoilers, but it was a mind-bending ending. Although I have 0% what was real and what was alternate?!? I assume marrying your cousin was the real part.

Why must humans be like this.

VERDICT: A good book for people who enjoy period dramas with not a lot of drama but very nicely placed grammatical periods.

THE AMATEURS #2: FOLLOW ME BY SARA SHEPHERD

It’s time for some MURDER, JOHN. This is the sequel to The Amateurswhich I read last year and promptly forgot 100% of what it was about. But this has a very satisfying summary on page (THANK THE BOOK HEAVENS) so I could keep up. However I rated the first book 2 stars and this was also…no. I find them too predictable and the stakes weirdly low or maybe I’ve watched too much Sherlock.

I also feel weird when these teens are tracking a suPER BAD MURDERER but they’re also worried about romance and being friendzoned. You know what you’re going to get? GRAVEZONED IF YOU DON’T PAY ATTENTION.

SMOL LIST OF DISGRUNTLED THINGS:

there are so many characters and my brain maxes out at two people and this is why I’ve lost track of my family

there are FIVE NARRATORS in a freaking 270pg book

Madison and Aerin literally have no point to their chapters

two characters are named MADISON and MADDOX and if you think I don’t get freaking confused then you are wrong, sir

why are the police so incompetent in YA mysteries <— the true mystery

where are the parents

why doesn’t anyone eat

the book is 90% tell tell tell and I was so detached due to all these info-dump conversations instead of actually witnessing ACTION.

However I liked getting more of the psychopath’s POV because that was interesting. Yes, shh, I’m a fine and normal person. And I confess I’m VERY interested to know what the psychopath’s endgame is and if these teenagers will die in the next book because no one is very competent. So very hooky.

ROYCE ROLLS BY MARGARET STOHL

I confess I’d rather eat a bucket than watch reality TV so this one didn’t work for me. (Might work for those who love reality TV though?!) And 100% thought the book was called ROLLS ROYCE because I am functional. #GoCait

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:

It’s a satire. So, like, yes let’s make fun of reality TV…but I don’t understand satires. If you like reality TV wouldn’t you find this offensive??? And if you hate it WHY ARE YOU READING THE BOOK? (oh wait…me)

Didn’t really care about the characters. They’re also all named after cars. I couldn’t tell anyone apart.

BREAKING BY DANIELLE ROLLINS

This was just too flippant about suicide to be an enjoyable thriller. It’s a companion to Burning, but you can read it as a standalone. And it’s like…a baording school with a dash of SCI FI or PARANORMAL and who knows what else. It’s as surprise for us all.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:

Oh a rich kids prep school? All the girls are going to be HORRIBLE AND HATE EACH OTHER. Obviously.

The main character is so nice and unassuming. She calls herself boring I mean???? I obviously believe her and now am turned off?? WHY DO BOOKS DO THIS.

Probably because she is Elle Fanning. I mean, look at that cover.

The boarding school cliches were in abundance. We gotcha class full of random sociopaths and conspiracy theories and creepy teachers and THAT ONE SINGLE BOY EVERYONE LOVES and suicide for the “shock” and a dark woods were they all go get drunk.

Lots of heavy topics = all glazed over. I am very unhappy with how the suicide theme was handled. Suicide is a huge, scary and complex topic and this is YA for freaking sakes. Please don’t treat it so flippantly and for “shocks”.

Random animal cruelty.

Again, no one eats. Why. I mean the tagline is “what makes this girl a monster” and I’m here like LOW BLOOD SUGAR PROBABLY?????

However I DO approve that it was proud to be feminine! And there was competitive fencing. Like with swords and not, um, fences to keep cows in or whatever. And I think a lot of the reason I was bored is that I’ve read a LOT and this felt overdone to me. I’ll just eat a bark chip here and sulk.

THE THINGS WE PROMISE BY J.C. BURKE

This was super problematic and depressing.I’m genuinely shocked/outraged at the storyline too??

I don’t think it was “unrealistic” but it used a lot of hugely bad tropes and I can’t SEE THE POINT OF THIS BOOK.

WHAT I’M FURIOUS ABOUT

The language is super offensive. It’s set in the ’90s so I get it…but when you even have the protagonist justifying her problematic language because “she likes it and doesn’t see why it’s a problem” THEN YOU HAVE A NO FROM ME. (Ex. derogatory use of words like “schizo” and a sheer ton of slanderous names against lgbtqia+ people.)

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone on the lgbtqia+ spectrum. Which is ridiculous because it’s ABOUT that minority. It basically kills off, ends badly, or reduces every. single. lgbtqia+ character to a tragedy story. It’s about AIDS and while the deaths might not have been unrealistic, it is completely unnecessary to do this to 100% of a minority in your book. Seriously, if this book was about black people and everyone got shot in police violence, or about depression where every single mentally ill character committed suicide = IT WOULD NOT BE OKAY. It’s harmful and not appropriate.

This is basically a queer tragedy for straight people. The levels of wrong, wow.

Gemma cares about prom. Nothing else. I found it very hard not to stab her with a pincushion.

It was also very slow. Not a lot happened except tragedy for all the minorities.

Now I got bawled out on Goodreads for this review so again: I’m not saying “this stuff doesn’t happen”. I’m saying the way it was WRITTEN was harmful and problematic. I felt so depressed finishing it and I actually cared a lot about some of the secondary characters so I found the book hard to put down. But like??? I wish I’d not picked it up.

THE DEFINITIONS OF INDEFINABLE THINGS BY WHITNEY TAYLOR

I’ve been so so depressing in this post so QUICK LOOK AT THIS BOOK THAT IS ABSOLUTELY UNFATHOMABLY AMAZING!!! This is one of my favourites of the year!!!!It’s about depression and it is like 10/10 accurate and respectful and bitter and funny and beautiful!

I think my heart just E X P L O D E D with good feelings for this book!!

It’s actually a really honestly brutal view of depression.Depression is different for everyone, but this was pretty relatable to me so that was special. It’s pretty gut-punching though because it deals with people who think depression is fake (“just be happier! you’ll feel better!”) and there’s no romanticised picnic here. But it’s also HOPEFUL and this is the kind of book we need, OK?? Also no “love cures all.” #Bless #This #Book

I adored both Snake and Reggie.They’re both bitter and pretentious and funny and sweet with hearts of gold underneath it. They are perfectly flawed???? And I love this??? There is a love triangle but it was so well done and AMAZING and I don’t even know myself anymore.

I totally didn’t expect to love this one so much. Pain. FEELS. Laugh-out-loud wit. It’s a really brittle and sometimes caustic view of depression and sometimes it’s a bit overly philosophical, but it was heckin’ special. I love this book OK go read it.

have you read any of these?!?! share thoughts!! i wish to discuss!! and do you like people on the covers of books??? also are you yay or nay to reality tv?

In a most exciting turn of events, I’m interviewing the bestselling author, E. Lockhart!

I KNOW. I’m freaking out just a little too. Her latest book, Genuine Fraud, came out this month and so today we’re having an interview + review + a most excellently exciting giveaway! Because I mean. Just wow.

Thanks to Allen & Unwin!

★★★★☆

The story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge. Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat. Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete. An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two. A bad romance, or maybe three. Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains. A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her. A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

Emily Lockhart is the author of eight YA novels including the bestselling We Were Liars and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book, a finalist for the National Book Award, and recipient of the Cybils Award for best young adult novel. She has a doctorate in English Literature from Columbia University and has taught composition, literature and creative writing. Her books have been translated into ten languages. Visit Emily online at emilylockhart.com and follow @elockhart on Twitter.

@PAPERFURY: Can you tell us how GENUINE FRAUD got its title? Did it go through any changes and how did you decide on it?

@ELOCKHART: The book had no joke at least 100 possible titles, but Genuine Fraud was a working title for a very long portion of my writing process – so we came back to it in the end. I like the idea that fraudulence and genuineness can co-exist. I think they actually do in many people. I thought seriously about calling the novel Let Her Have It.

@PAPERFURY: I’m such a huge fan of how GENUINE FRAUD is written in a fascinating non-linear style! Did you originally write the scenes in the order they appear in the book? Where did Jule’s story start in drafts for you?

@ELOCKHART: Thank you. Writing a story told backwards is really NOT EASY. I plotted it out ahead of time.

@PAPERFURY: I can imagine it would be a super challenge! What’s the toughest vs the easiest parts of the writing process for you?

@ELOCKHART: I love rewriting – it’s the inventing things out of the ether that’s hardest for me!

@PAPERFURY: In honour of the different countries/settings visited in GENUINE FRAUD, have you travelled overseas? Where have you been or where would you love to go?

@ELOCKHART: The locations are fun, right? San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Mexico, London, New York, Las Vegas… but I’m nowhere near as well-traveled as I’d like to be. Basically, everywhere glamorous I’ve ever been is a setting in Genuine Fraud – I used all the locations I had at my disposal! This year, though, I went to Kerala, India for two weeks. Tourism. I felt so lucky.

@PAPERFURY: It’s the actual best to be able to “travel” while reading, I agree! And lastly (and most importantly for sure) was any chocolate harmed in the making of this novel?

@ELOCKHART: There is quite a lot of chocolate in Genuine Fraud. And makeup. Two of my favorite things.

@PAPERFURY: Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, Emily! I’m completely honoured to have the chance to chat with you!

Genuine Fraud is super mind twisty. My last E Lockhart read was We Were Liars back in 2014, so needless to say I was long overdue for having my mind bent. It’s best if you go in without knowing too much about it (!!) so my review will be brief and (of cooooourse) spoiler free!

It was absolutely super well written!The details are amazing and the book is really short but doesn’t feel like it. It packs a punch and it’s so cleverly constructed that by the end your brain is basically splitting into: “WOW THAT WAS SO WELL DONE” and also “WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK.” Excellent reactions. Plus it’s in 3rd person, which is my favourite.

Jules is a totally unreliable narrator. Without giving too much away: basically we’re introduced to this teen living an extravagant life and using stolen identities. But WHY. And HOW. And QUESTIONS. A cop catches up with her and she runs and then we start trawling back through her life’s story to understand WHO THE HECK IS JULES WEST WILLIAMS. The story basically is: rich messed up kids. And a bit o’ death on the side.

ACT CALM. BUT LIKE OMG.

dude, it’s messed up

girls who are proud to be feminine

travelling the world

how rich people live which is interesting because I WILL NEVER KNOW THIS

a lot of junk food which is relatable content

girls who work-out because they like to, not to impress a boy

feminism

more murder

so much twisted mind play that by the end you’re whispering “whhhhhhat” with your eyes open like saucers because EVERYONE’S LOGIC IS SO MESSED UP

Only very tiny things for the book didn’t work for me. Like it honestly didn’t feel YA…more NA? The characters are finished highschool and in their later teens but there are like 2% parents around and mostly everyone was just drinking and making Bad Life Decisions™. It’s also hard to care about the characters because everyone was awful…but then I don’t think you’re really MEANT to in thrillers??

BUT OVERALL: This was exciting, twisty, and extremely messed up…ergo that’s fantastic. It features complex and interesting characters, who I also do not like but ya know. These things happen. It reminded me a lot of The Female of the Species and Here Lies Daniel Tate! And I absolutely appreciate how cleverly this book fit together by the end.

tell me about the most messed-up/mind twisty book you’ve read??? and have you travelled overseas at all? is Genuine Fraud on your tbr because it should be ok.

Gap Year In Ghost Town was absolutely hilarious, endearing, and (surprise) full of ghosts.

I really really like ghost stories and can never find enough. Like what’s more fun than starting off with half your cast dead?!? I know right?! Epic. But the real reason this book won me over was: it’s downright hilarious. Anton is an absolute talkative, adorakble, stupid, and heartwarming bucket of SASS. As much as I like a dark YA hero, I am so here for the talkative and happy ones. We need them!

But seriously…ghosts and humour? It’s made for me.

DID I MENTION GHOSTS? Basically Anton and his dad own a small-home-owned ghost hunting business! But instead of killing ghosts, they put them at rest and send them calmly into the next life. These are chill Hufflepuff ghost hunting lads and I loved them.

THE PLOT INCLUDES A TON OF WILD ACTION. Because ghosts know very little chill ghosts, which is Reason #848 I probably am actually a ghost. They’re so relatable?? But anyway. There are Secret Bad Organisations™ and ghosts trying to eat your liver and organised ghost crime. Plus — THEY FIGHT WITH SWORDS. We need more swords in modern literature. I want a sword. I feel validated reading this book.

ANTON IS SO FREAKING FUNNY. The sheer amount of wit, snappy comebacks, and hilarious banter gave me life. At first I thought Anton might be a little tacky, but pffft, nooooo. He was charming and endearing and totally stupid. I love him.

Stacey Evans, or the person who had been Stacey Evans before she was transformed into this supernatural serial killer, put her hands together on her lap. “Would you like a biscuit? I have Tim Tams somewhere, I’m sure.”I hesitated. After all, Tim Tams.

IT’S SET IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. I haven’t been, but you can tell it’s the author’s hometown because the little details made the setting so tangible. #AussieAuthorRepresent

THERE IS A LOT OF COFFEE APPRECIATION. Anton is not a morning person. He’s not even a person in the morning. He needs coffee or it takes him 29mins to figure out how to say “yes please.”

IT ALSO TICKED A LOT OF BOXES ON WHAT I WANT TO SEE MORE IN BOOKS. And this truly pleases me. For instance, there’s:

A platonic girl/boy friendship. Bec and Anton are BFF with 0% romantic feelings.

Excellent supportive dad.

dead people

diversity of ethnicity

basically NO ROMANCE omgggggg so refreshing (Anton kind of has a crush, but he doesn’t do anything about it or barely even think about it, so I count it as no romance!)

people who enjoy cosplay and nerd conventions

Tim Tams

I REALLY LOVED RANI TOO! She’s a ghost hunter from London who kind of believes in KILL ALL THE THINGS while Anton is trying to sing kumbaya here. She has a sword, okay? A sword!!!!! She’s also Chinese/Malaysian/British and has 0% time for your shenanigans.

THERE’S EVEN A LOT OF BOOK APPRECIATION. Anton and his dad run a bookshop between killing ghosts. He always takes a book with him (even on deathly missions) so basically was ever a book boy so perfect.

I have a phone charger, my pro standard GPS unit, a water bottle, a book and an e-reader just in case I finish my book. Can’t be without a book.

DID I MENTION IT WAS SO HILARIOUS. Because that is what gives me life.

IT LEFT ME WITH A TON OF QUESTIONS. Which means I desperately want a sequel because there’s so much depth to this world and these ghost-hunting people. It felt like Supernatural, but in book form! And heck yes, I love books revolving around ghosts and the paranormal world!

“Three: some of the records are likely to drive you insane.”“Oh. Magic stuff that’ll eat my brain?”“No. Just really bad handwriting. Awful. Like a drunk spider fell in an inkwell and staggered across the cards.”

I ADMIT…I FELT THE STAKES WERE A BIT LOW.They didn’t seem written to be low, but I just felt none of the action scenes escalated to “ooh this is scary” levels. It was just a bit comfortable. I’m not saying all books should be uber dark (ALTHOUGH I WISH) I just wanted to be scared of the ghosts?? It also made the finale a bit easy.

AND AS MUCH AS I ADORED ANTON, I THINK HIS FLIPPANT TONE MADE IT HARD FOR THE BOOK TO GO DEEPER EMOTIONALLY. It’s not impossible. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue has a similar tone with a sassy/flippant narrator, but it packs an emotional punch too. So I just wanted more feels! Anton turned every scene into a joke…and not complaining because I’m laughing but yet???? I wanted more depth.

AND HONESTLY I THINK THE CHARACTERS’ AGES WERE ALL WRONG. Obviously it’s a “Gap Year” in ghost tow….aka, the characters have finished high school and are 18. But the tone and style was more like younger YA. I would say 12+ would love this. Not to say younger kids can’t read about older kids, but I just felt the target audience was a bit of a mess. Plus Anton felt more 15 than 18.

This was such a pleasant, fun and ghostly surprise!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I adore Anton and PLEASE LET HIM NEVER CHANGE. He’s a dork and totally endearing.

It focuses on friendship and family and SWORDS (!!!) and fighting ghosts and conspiracy theories. And can we appreciate the fantastic cover art for a second?!? Because I have much love.

All I wanted was a nice simple life where I could hunt ghosts, do a part-time university course, be rich and famous and happy and have a talking alpaca. Was that too much to ask?

THANK YOU TO ALLEN & UNWIN AUSTRALIA FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. Gap Year In Ghost Town by Michael Pryor was published August, 2017.

★★★★☆

The Marin family are outcasts of the ghost hunting world. They run a two-man operation in inner city Melbourne. Anton has the Ghost-sight, but his father does not. Rani Cross is supremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat, with enhanced speed and strength thanks to her magical initiation into the Company of the Righteous. When it comes to ghost-hunting methodology, Anton and Rani don’t see eye to eye – Anton likes to ‘ease their passage’ to the next world, while Rani’s all about the slashing. But Melbourne is under threat; with a massive spike in violent ghost manifestations, Anton and Rani must find a way to work together to keep supernatural forces at bay. And what with all the blindingly terrifying brushes with death, Anton must decide if he really wants in on the whole ghost hunting biz anyway.

do you prefer dark/tortured heroes or sassy/hilarious ones??? tell me about a book with a totally hilarious narrator? and HAVE YOU READ THIS ONE? because you should.

Oh it’s MINI REVIEW time again!

And this time seems to come around like…a lot. But you know what? I read faster than I blog so we just have to deal with this or I’d be posting reviews from February right now in August. OH WAIT. Haha. I am. (Excuse me I’m sorry. This year has been madness.) However I find mini-reviews are also good when I’m being a particular bucket of sour grapefruit….which will be the case a bit here.

BUT HEY! Just because me (who is a nobody, by the by) didn’t click with some of these books doesn’t mean they won’t suit you! I totally recommend them if they poke your interests! GO FOR IT

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Allen & Unwin for these review-copies!

LIVING ON HOPE STREET BY DEMET DIVAROREN

This is a really multicultural story that’s all about bringing a street of humans together with HOPE. Super sweet. And quite emotional too! However I kind of came unstuck when I realised it was going to have 7+ narrators and it is a tiny book so this made it (a) epically confusing, (b) I never really got to know anyone, and (c) it’s hard to feel invested when there’s SO much going on in SUCH a short amount of time. I am the sad.It’s basically about a street of families, all from different backgrounds.I did feel most invested in Kane’s family since they start off the book and their story is SO SAD. Their father is abusive and Kane is super angry and wants to kill his dad. He’s protective of his little brother and their relationship is super sweet. I also thought it did a good job showing the traumatic after-affects of domestic violence. So brutal and painful to read.

However I struggled to care about anyone else. They had FAR less page time too. Gugu was from an African-immigrant family and I would’ve looooved to know more about her, but we barely get any details? Every time it was the cranky racist veteran’s chapters I just wanted to eat a piece of brick. I don’t even get the POINT of some of the other characters when their stories barely tied in. TOO MUCH. NOT ENOUGH SPACE.

But A+ for all the diversity and I felt it was really respectfully and wonderfull done!

THIS SIDE OF HOME BY RENÉE WATSON

This is a pretty important book that tackles topics like racism, finding your voice, and why ice cream is better than frozen yogurt.All good points. All need to be said. It’s #ownvoices too! And I appreciated how it really delved deep into a lot of micro-aggression that African Americans face every day, plus it unpacked a lot of problematic things some white people whine about: like why Black History Month is important and why saying “I don’t see colour” is problematic, which are important discussions to have.Unfortunately I found the actually writing style didn’t work for me.Bit unemotional? Bit bland? I’ve been spoiled by other contemporaries like ones by Angie Thomas and Dhonielle Clayton and Tiffany D. Jackson where the writing style reeeeally resonated with me. So just a personal writing style thing here.

It’s basically about Maya and her identical twin Nikkifinishing off highschool and looking to college and realising growing up sucks. Lots of coming-of-age angst. Lots of twins-not-being-super-close-anymore. Also they get a passive-aggressive principal at their new school and it’s really hard for Maya who wants to fight back but isn’t always sure how. I did chaff at the really slow pace though. The story kind of wandered.

So very important issues and discussions to mull over!Just needed a bit more concrete direction in the plot and sparkle in the writing style. Also I want ice cream.

SPARROW BY SCOT GARDNER

Sparrow had a terrifically strong start that totally hooked me in and then…it kind of drizzled. I am so disappointed because I thought this was going to be a very ME book. It’s about this kid named Sparrow who escapes juvie and swims through this croc/stinger/shark infested waters and then survives in the bush! And it flips back and forth from when Sparrow was 12 and first on the streets, leading up to how he gets throw in juvie.

12 year old Sparrow WAS ADORABLE and broke my heart. I absolutely loved him. He has selective mutism. And like he just drifts around this esplanade, being like semi-adopted by a kind cafe lady and this old gnarly but nice pensioner who teaches him to swim. And he’s avoiding his slightly scary brother. These chapters are A+.

BUT SMOL LIST OF REASONS IT FELL APART FOR ME:

The survival chapters were cool in theory but it was freaking boring reading about Sparrow just walking and walking and gathering food.

My eyes glazed over at the sheer dullness.

I wished the entire book had been about 12 year old baby Sparrow to be honest.

But like I don’t even understand how none of these “kind adults” actually did anything about this CLEARLY HOMELESS MUTE CHILD. It was beyond negligent and unrealistic.

And then the disability rep for his mutism? Well…let’s just say a pretty girl can cure anything.

So I enjoyed it partially…but in the end I had too many “what the even” moments going on. Premise = love. Execution of premise = not so much.

MY LIFE AS A HASHTAG BY GABRIELLE WILLIAMS

Wow I feel like I just got preached at. Duuuude. This is the kind of book that feels like a scared adult is writing about how the internet is “ruining teens’ lives” and having a rant about how horrible teenagers are today. No thanks. (And maybe that’s not the intent! But that’s how it feels!)The message that cyber-bulling is bad is a GOOD MESSAGE. And I did like how it showed how you can cyber-bully on accident and still face the consequences of your actions. But the rest is 100% PREACHING AT YOU on how bad social media is.

MC was also a really really frustrating protagonists. And her, um, name is “MC”…which is also slang for “main character” so that’s weird. But she was selfish, rude, cruel to her friends, and her life was 100% her. I couldn’t care less about her. And what’s the crux of the story? Oh it’s all about girls-who-are-fighting-over-a-boy of course! Girl on girl hate is NEVER a storyline I’m interested in.

LIST OF OTHER DISLIKES:

The blurb spoils the whole book…

When it starts MC’s brother and their mutual friend have a huge falling out that “nobody talks about”. I instantly knew what it was.

So…cliche? Predictable? A bit.

All the girl-on-girl hate.

There are a million characters and I have only one small pea-sized portion of my brain reserved for remembering names.

How am I supposed to feel ANYTHING NICE towards MC who has a tumblr purely so she can bitch about her friends??? Oh and she names them. Online. And never thinks this’ll come back to bite her.

The viral part I found quite unrealistic. The fact is, the world doesn’t CARE about a couple of random girls’ teenage drama. If they’d been celebrities, yes. But they weren’t so…no.

NO FILTER BY ORLAGH COLLINS

Oh look, ANOTHER book that’s terrified of the internet.Mate, I love the internet (HI I’M ON IT RIGHT NOW) so these kind of books tick me off so quickly. Plus I’m tired of these books where a privileged white rich girl gets a spontaneous holiday to another country and SHE WHINES ABOUT IT THE WHOLE TIME. Um, take me then.

But the romance was cute! Except for the part where every time Liam and Emerald disagree they just kiss to get over it. This…isn’t going to work long term, folks. However I did root for them.

LIST OF WHAT WENT WRONG FOR ME:

SUPER SUPER SLOW. Like nothing even happens for the first 150 pages. They eat cereal and cut meat in a deli and whine about their lives.

Emerald spends so much time weeping about her instagram feed.

There were several romance scenes so cringey I started laughing.

This news just in: I may be an unfeeling turnip.

Emerald actually LOVED the IG filters which is confusing and bizarre.

The book had this super preachy tone about if you like social media you are “not living your life”.

All the girl-on-girl hate because GIRLS CAN’T BE FRIENDS.

NOT impressed with the moment Emerald says she probably “OCD” because “seriously, that’s a thing!” when she feels upset from her “internet withdrawal”…like that’s ableist and cruel.

I am SO NOT HERE for putting asterisks in swear words books. It’s annoying. Look if a book can have kind of a hot sexy time then you can swear without literally going “effing f**k” on the actual page.

It fell into the “THIS IS HOW TEENS SPEAK!!” cringe moment with instagram user names being “0o_kittykatz_o0” and “rupertisnotabear2000”. And the captions were like “#tbt GLASTO!!! SIKKK START TO SUMMER WITH MY BAE!!!!”

You have got to be kidding me.

Please. do. not.

PRO TIP: If you are writing for teens, try not to insult them the whole time.

have you read any of these??? any on your radar?? tiiiime to chat! tell me about a book you LOVED the premise of but didn’t end up loving how it was written??

Do you know what books need more of? PIRATES.

And so basically Heidi Heilig’s books are a gift to this universe. I truly love her duology of The Girl From Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time! They have a conglomeration of Things Cait Loves (which is like, super nice of them to cater to my needs like this) including: pirates, maps, tiny pocket-sized dragons, sassy thieves, islands, wild gunshots, complex plots, and several delicious pastries.

I’m going to double-review both books in the duology today!And there will be no spoilers because I’m not a monster.

However there will be pictures of books + strawberry chocolate tarts that I ate and you didn’t. So maybe I am a monster.

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the review copies!

THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE

This book reminds me of all the things that are GLORIOUS with literature. It just smooshes so many amazing things into a bucket of awesome and sails it away on the seas so blue. There’s treasure and dashing thieves and epic navigating women and maps and SASS. And did I mention the maps? I really really love maps.

It’s about time travel onboard an ex-pirate ship!

It’s mostly set in the 1800s in Hawaiiwhich is super freaking cool.

So you have characters in New York one chapter with their mobile phones and pizza and then — BOOM — they’re cutting purses and talking like gentleman in 19th century Hawaii.

It’s about Captain Slate and his daughter Nix and they’re time travelling around to find a way to bring back their dead wife/mother.

SO MANY MAPS ARE INCLUDED.

Although I won’t lie some of the plot kind of confused me.

There is diversity! Nix is half-Chinese and her best friend, Kashmir, is Persian. The secondary characters are ethnicities, sexualities, and religions too! Except for Blake. He is as white and straight as as a plastic fork.

I also really adored Kash and Nix! They are my ULTIMATE SHIP HERE, even though it dabbles in “love triangle” territory, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Nix meets the charming Blake on Hawaii and they gallop through some meadows, but it’s pretty obvious Kash is amazing and Blake is not. I mean. Kash sassy and he steals things. mY HEART’S WON ANYWAY.

The only thing I struggled with was the plot being a smidge confusing. And the book was SUPER enthusiastic about history and details of Hawaii. Which was (A) cool, but (B) what the heck man, too much info.

But overall? Super good! I really get excited about any books that whisper of the sea because the sea caaaalls to me. And the stakes were high! Bullets were shot! Angst was had! Bring me the sequel, sir.

THE SHIP BEYOND TIME

While I really really really like this duolgoy and the premise — I was super confused in the sequel. I think it was just the messing about with history and alternate realities that did my head in. The plot was the focus over the characters and I waaaay prefer character-centric books. BUT IT’S SET ON A PIRATE SHIP AND THERE ARE MAPS. SO YOU KNOW. I’m always going to recommend it still!

How beautiful the entire tome is — CAN WE JUST TAKE A MINUTE TO ADMIRE IT.

There are plenty of maps in this one too, including mythological maps so I’m a fan.

I would marry an atlas if I could, let’s be real here.

There is SO much ship appreciation and while no one is technically a “pirate” it’s still a pIRATE SHIP and I love it and would live there immediately.

Kash is my sassy-thief-master cinnamon child.

AND GUESS WHAT?!? HE NARRATES TOO!

Also just Kash the sass.

I also liked how Nix took control of her fate more in this book and was a force to be reckoned with.

There are lots of myths here and I hadn’t heard of them before so it was an exciting adventure.

Let’s manipulate history and realitybecause WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO ON THE WEEKEND.

The plot twists were super intense.

I love a good morally-grey-villain who’s not black and white with bad intentions.

I loved how it was set mostly in this ancient utopia mythological place called Ker-Ys.We meet more Navigators, and also throw in some kings and myths and tunnels and doom. I also liked how this book showed a parallel to the first: this time it’s Nix making bad decisions to save someone she loves. Kash is fated to die in the sea and Nix is like “heck to the no”…which is super sweet.

I have to admit the romance was pretty underwhelming. I shipped Kash x Nix a lot, and a lot of the plot hinges on them figuring out what they’d do to stay together…yet they actually spend so little time together?? I get it! TENSION. But it was hard to stay invested when they just seemed to snipe at each other the whole time. #Unsatisfied. Also Blake x Nix got a LOT more page-time and that’s unsatisfying because Blake is still a plastic fork. A boring one.

Plus I was very very very confused with the plot. It could be just me? Sometimes my comprehension levels suck. But the time-travel complexities lost me. MAN OVERBOARD. AND BY “MAN OVERBOARD” I MEAN ME. I just wish the plot had been clearer, and people’s motivations more ON PAGE.

Still a series I love but I wish it’d focused on the characters instead of the confusing twisty plot. However…if you love plots that keep your brain working = THIS IS FOR YOU.

alrighty, time travel question! if you could go back in time and change one thing: WHAT WOULD IT BE??? do you like time travel books? do you want to marry a map? did the strawberry chocolate tart in this photos make you hungry?? and HAVE YOU READ THESE BOOKS? TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS!

I always get monstrously pleased when a sequel doesn’t disappoint, and Avenged (Ruined #2) was a GLORIOUS.

Last year, Ruined was one of my top reads for it’s levels of epic sass, cheesebread, and stabbing. And while Avenged does fail with the cheesebread (#heartbroken) it is a fabulous continuation on Em’s story.

I also am such a huge fan of Amy Tintera’s writing style — dry humour, sharp dialogue, and characters who will break your heart. Like, literally break it. Probably pull it out of your chest…BUT OKAY. LET’S MOVE FORWARD. This was quite a bloody sequel (although not gory) and I’m impressed!

NOTE: This is a sequel review but will have NO SPOILERS for this book. May contain very teeny spoilers for book 1, but I’ll be super careful and vague so read on without fear!

The plot of this one is very different to the first.

More meetings and politics and travelling…all things I’m not such a fan of? But at least it’s concise and balances it with epic action scenes where EVERYBODY DIES AND IT’S TERRIFYING. Nice.

Also Em and her nearly freed sister, Olivia, are being co-queens. I can’t even summarise how EXCITING THIS IS. I’ve never read a book with two lethal epic badass sister queens?!??? Now I want 900 more. Immediately. Olivia is pretty terrifying. Like did you blink wrong? SHE’LL PULL YOUR SPINE OUT YOUR NOSE WITH HER POWERS. And while it was bloody, it wasn’t super dark or anything. I think this is the reason it didn’t win me over as hard as book 1? The stakes were high but I just didn’t feel super worried because the main characters got cushioned.

But I am also a horrible person so please excuse me.

I also have to admit I don’t like the cover… It doesn’t even look like the same smudged and tired and forcefully determined Em on the first cover? But the blue is a delicious shade.

There are also 4 narrators this time: Em, Cas, Olivia, and Aren!

EM: I love her so much! She is so wry and sarcastic and diplomatic and sensible. While Olivia is bathing in the blood of her foes, Em is like “ok but could we talk to them first”. Communication levels with Em are A+ WHICH IS SO REFRESHING TO READ.

CAS: MY DARLING CAS CHILD. He gets smacked about a lot in this book and yet he is the sweetest and most precious cinnamon scone. I love reading about sweet boys and lovely kings and Cas is BOTH and he is glorious. And so dryly sardonic too. He gets poisoned and his #1 reaction is “Okay but the poisoned soup at least was delicious.” #BlessHim

OLIVIA: Well, she is a bucket full of psycho. But I loved how the story showed her venerable side too and how she joked with Em and was fiercely loyal and defending of her people. BUT SHE’S SCARY, OK. She loves to kill.

AREN: I was dubious about him having a narrating POV because: why sir. But turns out I love Aren. He is super powerful and yet has a lot of PTSD meltdowns and he was so well written and realistically done that I just <3 <3 <3

GALO & MATEO: They’re Cas’ most trusted guards and also an item and also SO fiercely protective of him. This news just in: Cas is everyone’s cinnamon child.

VIOLET: She’s a new addition and she’s such a delightful contrast to the epic badass Ruined warriors. She’s kind and thoughtful and highly capable with weapons and lovely.

JOVITA:Cas’ cousin makes a play for the throne and tries to declare him insane/poison him…she’s been watching too much Game of Thrones. ALSO I WANT TO FRY HER INTO SOUP.

It’s dialogue centric. And the dialogue is crisp and often witty!

The humour is pretty modern. Which I adoooooore. Sure it’s not like medieval-style, but the jabs and jokes are the best so, hi. I’m a fan.

Pacing is fabulous. Because we’re not left with chapters of info dumps!

I never even felt the need to wander off and take a sandwich because 500% engaged THE WHOLE TIME. Which is surreal because I love sandwiches.

because I love

The characters are never what you expect. Because they’re…like original and unique?!

Cas throws a “woe is me everyone hates me” pity party and his guard smacks him in the head. #Friendship

Cas tho. Too precious for this world.

It balances war and strife between 3 different countries. And they all felt different and well developed!

So. much. shipping. Cas and Em are still pretty dysfunctional, but they don’t have ANGST tantrums and I love love love that. They are in mild denial of their feelings, but that’s brief and I just want to hug the book for not being overly dramatic. They need to sail. THEY NEED TO. I want them to dryly sass each other to death. Or a happily ever after. Whatever comes first.

Avenged was definitely a bucket of engaging epicness with a sidedish of psychotic lollipops.

The best combination.

I don’t think it was quite as good as the first book, but still absolutely amazing and I swallowed it whole. This is the kind of YA fantasy I want to read! Complex characters, interesting worlds, wit and sarcasm, and people with magical powers that can rip the world to pieces. Lovely. I WANT MORE.

THANK YOU TO ALLEN & UNWIN FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. Avenged (Ruined #2) by Amy Tintera was published May, 2017.

★★★★☆

A war that will fuel her. A bond that will destroy her. Emelina Flores has come home to Ruina. After rescuing her sister Olivia from imprisonment in rival kingdom Lera, Em and Olivia together have devised a plan that will rebuild Ruina to its former glory. But just because Em and Olivia are out of Lera doesn’t mean they are safe. Their actions over the past year have had consequences, and they are now targets of retaliation. Olivia will destroy everyone who acts against Ruina, but Em isn’t as sure. Ever since Em posed as Prince Casimir’s betrothed in Lera, she’s started to see another side to this war. Lera may have destroyed the Ruined for decades, but Em knows that Cas is different. And now that he’s taken the throne, Em believes a truce is within reach. But Olivia suspects that Em’s romantic feelings for Cas are just colouring her judgement. Em is determined to bring peace to her home. But when winning the war could mean betraying her family, Em faces an impossible choice between loyalty and love. Em must stay one step ahead of her enemies–and her blood–before she’s the next victim in this battle for sovereignty.

i think Amy Tintera is TOTALLY underrated…so tell me about a favourite underrated author of yours?!? and have you read Ruined or Avenged? do they snabble your interest?

Despite scifi and I having an uneasy relationship, I did quite enjoy Defy the Stars!

I do get a bit confused when people start bopping about the galaxy, starting wars, taking names, existing solely on packaged protein bars. I mean, the latter is the most confusing. How can you exist without fresh cake??? I was under the impression that’s the only reason humankind still persists???But when the characters win me over, I still say a book is a win!Even if I didn’t have a heckin’ clue what was going. I had the same feel in A Thousand Pieces of You too. I may be doomed.

Galaxy covers are just ridiculously gorgeous. And this is just an ARC that I have but LOOK AT IT????

I absolutely ADORED both protagonists. Noemi and Abel are adorable and stupid little darlings who are in denial of their emotions = aka they have so many emotions. I enjoyed their voices so much, with Noemia (17yo military raised human cadet) being all about action!! Duty!! Opportunity!! Stamina!! Shooting things!! And then there was Abel (teen robot, prototype, immortal) who is the best of all robots of ever, doomed to serve you, lowkey sassy, offended 500% of the time when you’re rude to him. They were both complex with A+ for character development. And for some reason I always relate to the Vulcan robots. I DON’T KNOW, IT JUST HOW IT IS. HELLO ABEL MY PRECIOUS.

I do have a weakness for slightly sassy AIs. Abel is amazing because he develops more human tendencies as the book goes on and he’s on a roller coaster of discovering-free-will-and-emotions-and-love-and-ramen-noodles.

Noemi was pretty badass! She is also a damaged pumpkin, unloved by her adopted family, will 500% die to save her adopted sister, of Latin American decent, also HONOUR BEFOREEEEE SURRENDER!!!!

Much action!Guns and explosions and general psycho robots come to eat your soul or turn you into a toaster strudel or whatever it is psycho robots do when they’ve caught you. #options

It’s in 3rd person/present tense. AKA my favourite of ever and I can’t find enough books in this style. I LOVE IT.

DID I MENTION ABEL WAS FREAKING ADORABLE. It needs be said. Perhaps twice.

Unfortunately I haven’t a clue what was going on. Like how can I love characters and enjoy the writing so much and yet…WHAT WAS GOING ONNNNNNNN???? I still have no idea why they were jumping from galaxy to galaxy. Apparently it was important. I don’t understand WHY destroying the wormhole was the #1 Goal For Noemi. Like it’d save her planet, but…why? Why were they at war with earth? How did they colonise all these galaxies and planets anyway? Also why. And I SWEAR I read slowly and carefully…my brain just didn’t mesh with it. Plus I’m about as good with sci-fi-tech-speak as I am at making phone calls. Which is to say: no. However this could JUST BE ME since I have a history of scifi struggles.#mybad

It had some sketchy morals. I just am not really sure about the whole subplot with deciding that terrorist was just misguided and is totally still a good person. If you’re killing INNOCENT CIVILIANS I say nay sir.

I guessed the plot twist with Abel far too early. Which either means (a) I’m a genius, or (b) it was a bit obvious. I kind of felt spoiled, BY MY OWN BRAIN.

SPOILERS

I also think Abel got away FAR too easily from his psycho genius creator who wanted to inhabit his body to live forever. Where was the security?! You’re telling me the most powerful robot inventor in the galaxy has a house you can just walk in and out of with 100% chill? Abel just walked out. WHY WAS THAT SO EASY.

Also lowkey sad that Abel discovered his will and reason to live just because he fell in luuuuurve. I am an unromantic pot plant but YET I WISH HE’D HAD MORE.

I loved BOTH characters but didn’t ship it. And it’s on a spaceship so this is a heinous crime on my behalf. I just never saw any indication that Noemi felt anything for Abel other than friendship. NOT A SCRAP.

Too much religion.It’s just not my favourite thing to read about? And I was a bit confuse about why Noemi’s planet was built on religious groups that got along 100% fine. Considering reality — THIS DOESN’T SEEM LIKELY. Noemi waxed poetic about religion a few too many times. BUT! It didn’t make religion a villain so that’s nice.

NO FOOD. Look this needs to be said. You can’t guard the galaxy or whatever they were trying to do (I STILL DON’T KNOW) without food. At least make a snack? Abel slurped some ramen noodles at the end BUT THAT WAS BASICALLY IT. What was Noemi existing on? The righteousness of being Better Than Thou with tea of her enemy’s frustrated tears?

I totally rooted for these adorable starstruck characters who will probably die from their own bad decisions. BUT I LIKE THEM.

Total adoration for the subtle snark, the character development, the writing style and all the planets they got to frolic over.

I just have 0% understanding about the world building or the plot, so I’ll just sit here awkwardly at Table For One Of Cluelessness and sip my tea and try to look intelligent. Because WHY. To everything.

THANK YOU TO ALLEN AND UNWIN AND HOT KEYS FOR THE ARC. Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray is published April, 2017.

★★★☆☆

Noemi is a young and fearless soldier of Genesis, a colony planet of a dying Earth. But the citizens of Genesis are rising up – they know that Earth’s settlers will only destroy this planet the way they destroyed their own. And so a terrible war has begun. When Noemi meets Abel, one of Earth’s robotic mech warriors, she realizes that Abel himself may provide the key to Genesis’ salvation. Abel is bound by his programming to obey her – even though her plan could result in his destruction. But Abel is no ordinary mech. He’s a unique prototype, one with greater intelligence, skill and strength than any other. More than that, he has begun to develop emotions, a personality and even dreams. Noemi begins to realise that if Abel is less than human, he is more than a machine. If she destroys him, is it murder? And can a cold-blooded murder be redeemed by the protection of a world? Stranded together in space, they go on a whirlwind adventure through Earth’s various colony worlds, alongside the countless Vagabonds who have given up planetary life altogether and sail forever between the stars. Each step brings them closer – both to each other and to the terrible decision Noemi will have to make about her world’s fate, and Abel’s.